


You're Like a Fine Wine

by thesterekshipper



Category: Oz (TV)
Genre: Alpha Ryan, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M, also they are sooooo out of character its not even funny, and there will be FLUFF! yeah not what you expected in an oz fic huh, canon divergence but only because I mess up the timeline so fucking bad :) ahaha, is it a slow burn? you will find out, miguel be like: alive ahaha fuck, miguel-centered, omega miguel, season? what season?, surprise bitch, toby and chris are not the main pair so, yeah they will fuck eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:53:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24082378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesterekshipper/pseuds/thesterekshipper
Summary: Miguel desperately hopes he's a beta. Being an unmated omega in a prison is basically a "rape me, I'm free!" sign on your back. He would rather off himself with his own shank then be an omega.He has so many more important things to worry about, let's not add omega to the list.Well, fuck.Would you believe him if he said it was all O'Reily's fault?
Relationships: Billie Keane & Miguel Alvarez, Miguel Alvarez & Peter Schibetta, Miguel Alvarez/Ryan O'Reily, Peter Schibetta & Billie Keane, Tobias Beecher/Chris Keller
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter One: Gran Reserva 904 (La Rioja Alta), Rioja DOCa, Spain

**Author's Note:**

> welcome, my dudes. yall know what this is, you're welcome. lemme tell you what I plan to do in this fic:  
> 1\. love on Miguel Alvarez because I said so  
> 2\. fuck up the timeline. there's no particular season so any and all characters who are dead may just be alive.  
> 3\. along with that, some characters who are dead may be seen with other characters who are in a different season in which they are still alive miraculously. make sense? probably not but that's fine  
> 4\. play "lets pretend there's a happy ending to oz" game.
> 
> that's it! hope you enjoy give it kudos give it comments give it love cool? cool. 
> 
> find me on Tumblr @lonelygogosqueezepacket :)

In Oz, birthdays meant nothing. Just another day where inmates attempt (in some, a very trying effort, others, not so much) to not start a fight, get sent to the hole, and subsequentially suffer. Unfortunately, this typically happens. Chaos likes to sit on the railings, waiting to provoke the unsuspecting prisoner into doing her bidding. Many prisoners are blind to her effects, they simply cannot resist.

  
Back to the point.

  
Yes, in Oz, birthdays are nothing. In the outside world, every birthday closer to twenty is like the stepping stone into the rest of your (possibly ruined, possibly not) life. When you’re twenty, you get that final nudge from Destiny, saying “ _Hey! You’re twenty now, congrats! Also, you’re gonna suffer for the rest of your life_.” Alternatively, “ _you’re gonna be a dick for the rest of your life,_ ” and also, “ _you’re normal, congrats_.”

  
This happened to be what Miguel Alvarez thought of Alpha/Beta/Omega statuses. Being close to turning twenty (as in, tomorrow), he hoped hard to just be a beta. He knew he wouldn’t be an alpha, as his father was a beta and his mother was an omega. _That’s fine,_ he thought, _as long as I’m not an omega, this will be fine._

  
Miguel got out of the stiff bed and looked toward his pod mate. Groves sat creepily at the head of his bed, looking out the glass and into the concrete below. He wasn’t the best person to share a pod with, but Miguel supposed it could be worse. Groves might be weird, but he wasn’t a rapist and he wasn’t exactly a space hog, so Miguel can’t complain. He continues to hope, all the way through dressing, that he will present as a beta, if not to be branded with a target on his back like an omega, but so that he could stay with mostly-unproblematic-yet-slightly-weird Groves. After many an omega was raped, McManus decided the best thing to do was pair each secondary sex with each other. Alphas with alphas, omegas with omegas, and so on. Although this plan might seem realistic, Oz is still a prison and with a prison comes rape, murder, and other horrid things that are very unavoidable. At least he knows Groves won’t try it, and if he did, let’s just say Miguel could probably hit him with a small gust of air and he’d tip over.  
 _A grim way to start off my day_ , Miguel thought. _Maybe breakfast will make it better._

Breakfast did not make it better.  
The Italians, after one of their members was tripped and made their breakfast spill all over the cafeteria floor by a homeboy, begun a fight not even fifteen minutes into the allotted time for breakfast.

  
Of course.

  
Miguel sat quietly by the end of the table, trying to read his book, so close to finishing, when O’Reily walked by him, stopped, turned around, and stared at him incredulously, eyebrows turned down.

  
“What?” Miguel asked, after he was sure O’Reily wasn’t planning on walking away.  
Ryan fumbled before asking, “Are you okay?”  
Now Miguel’s eyebrows turned down, confused as to why anyone (especially O’Reily) would be asking him that.

  
“...Yeah. Why?”

  
Ryan stared, what seemed to be at his forehead but what most likely looked like right past him, like the gears were churning in his head. They usually always were, scheming and plotting, but now seemed different.

  
“You just smell different. That’s all.” Ryan still looked completely puzzled, as if Miguel were the last answer on the daily crossword he just couldn’t figure out.

  
Miguel didn’t know how to answer him, so he just replied, “Uh...sorry?”

  
O’Reily stared at him for some more long seconds, nostrils flaring, before the last gear clicked and instead of turning down, his eyebrows shot up and his mouth opened in shock. He started shaking his head wildly a few times, then slowly started to back away. He no longer looked at Miguel, instead choosing to look across the cafeteria to check if anyone had seen him in his stupor. After this assessment and determining no one had, he once again looked back at Miguel in shock.  
Getting slightly concerned, although having no idea why, he flagged the page he was on and set it down.

  
“Hey man, are you good? You look kinda pale there...I guess...paler than you already are.”

After there was no retort back from the Irishman, Miguel started to stand.

  
At this, Ryan let out a warning growl, and everyone’s head whipped toward them, on high alert. His posture was now rigid, and his mouth was now in a snarl. Miguel took a small gasp in and put his hands in front of his body to attempt and placate him. What had gotten into the alpha, he had no clue. Now not only him but the entire cafeteria was wondering what was gonna happen next.

  
“Ryan, hey man, what the fuck did I do, huh? Just calm down, man,” he said with a slight shake in his voice. Miguel knew that O’Reily wouldn’t attack him in a public place like this, and even so he wouldn’t do it himself. Ryan seemed a little more relaxed, so Miguel attempted one more step towards him as everyone looked on.

  
Ryan did not take kindly to this, and once more gathered up a tense stance, snarling out of the corner of his mouth. He started backing away faster now, and the hacks released the doors signaling breakfast was over and giving O’Reily a chance to escape the situation.  
Miguel, still standing with his hands outstretched and book on the table, was now wondering this moment what the fuck was happening. Those who were still seated were staring at him like he’d just killed O’Reily instead of what had just happened, which, if anyone asked him, he would not be able to answer. Gathering himself, he quickly picked up his book and sped out of the room like a man on fire.

  
He knew that if he saw Ryan later, Ryan wouldn’t try anything. Miguel knew that if he had to, he could easily take Ryan out with a flick of his shank, and part of him wanted to after that spectacle in the cafeteria. But something inside Miguel was telling him that would be a bad idea, although he had no clue what that something was. What had O’Reily said about him smelling different? I needed to find Ryan and ask him what he had meant...he thought, and with that, the idea was set into motion in his head and he formulated a plan as he walked toward the infirmary for his shift.  
 _What’s that saying again? Have a meeting with destiny? Some shit like that…_  
Yes, indeed.  
Miguel had a date with Destiny.

Dr. Nathan had asked him to restock the shelves inside the storage closet from the new shipment they had gotten this morning, so that’s what he went off to do.

  
Not where he had expected to find O’Reily.

  
Moments after Miguel had opened the door to find him there sitting on the floor, they made eye contact and gaped at each other for a second before Miguel shut the door with the boxes in tow, effectively cornering O’Reily into talking to him.

  
Previously, on his walk to the infirmary, Miguel had come up with some talking points for when he questioned Ryan such as: _Why did you do that? Were you trying to get us in trouble? Is there something wrong with you?_ And quite possibly the one he dwelled over the most: _What did you mean when you said my scent was different?_

  
Sadly, his effort was all for naught as the first thing that came out of his mouth was, “What the fuck?”

  
Ryan let out a breathy chuckle at this question, and smiled slightly. He made eye contact with Miguel, and then thought for a second before replying, “Yeah. That seems to sum up this situation.”

  
Miguel nodded his head, and they sat in silence for a moment. Then Miguel started to open the boxes and restock the shelves. While he did this, he finally got the courage to ask his questions. Unfortunately, not one at a time.

  
“Why─were you? Is there─something, I mean are you trying to─were you trying to─”

  
Ryan interrupted him, “Woah okay slow down there─”

  
“What did you mean when you said my scent was different?”

  
Ah, there it is.

  
O’Reily peered at him for a moment, pondering whether or not Alvarez was serious. When he determined that he was, Ryan replied.

  
“You...you mean you don’t know?”

  
Miguel rolled his eyes. “Well no, dumbass, I can’t smell myself,” and he set down the supplies he was holding and went to sit down near Ryan. “So...what─what do I smell like?”

  
O’Reily seemed to be floored by this question. Telling someone what they smelled like is either a parental thing or an intimate thing between mates, but Alvarez seemed unbothered to ask Ryan to describe it. _He must not know what it means_ , he thought, _to ask somebody that_. Ryan focused on him one more time before answering.

  
“It’s like...well, I smell...caramel. Like the kind that’s gooey and almost too sweet for you to eat more than a drop of. And...dark chocolate. Melted, melted dark chocolate. And um...orange peel. Citrusy and kinda sharp. And it’s almost like...well, it’s almost like silk. No─no, more...velvety. Like I could take one bite of you and just...or I could say your name and have it roll off my tongue like that...or you would just melt in my mouth and─,” he stopped when he noticed Miguel staring at him so intently. Ryan could not believe he had just said all that shit. Like he was pouring out his heart or something.

  
“That’s...wow. That’s not what I expected. You can really smell that?” Miguel asked, not recognizing the torment going on in Ryan’s head. “So then...why did you react like that in the cafeteria? Is my scent like… appalling to you or some shit?”

  
Ryan glanced over at him, “No. Quite the opposite, actually.”

  
Miguel took a moment, then whipped his head over to Ryan. “What? Does that mean we’re mates or some bullshit? I’m not even presented yet! How could we be destined mates already? I mean, I’m not an omega, right? And even though I’m sure you wouldn’t be a bad mate I─” Ryan cut him off.

  
“It doesn’t matter, okay!? Even if you are an omega, I can’t be your mate!”

  
Miguel stopped short. “Why...why not?”

  
Ryan hated the way Miguel sounded disappointed. “I...already have one. A mate. We’ve been mated for a couple years, now. She’s looking after my brother while I’m in here...I can’t just leave her like that.”

  
“Oh.”

  
They sat in silence for several minutes. Miguel played with a frayed string on his scrubs and Ryan looked down at his lap.

  
“Wait a minute,” Ryan said, “you said you haven’t presented yet?”

  
“Yeah. My birthday is in like...ten hours or something. Why?”

  
“Well, no one should be able to smell you at all...including me. So how can I? This is so weird, man…” Ryan trailed off.

  
“Yeah. Uh, well, I’m going to...head back. I guess. I mean, you can stay, I─yeah.” Miguel said awkwardly, then exited the storage closet.  
Ryan eventually got up, dusted himself off, then headed back to Em City.

Miguel had about thirty minutes left of his shift and he was cleaning up a couple of beds when he suddenly felt a searing pain in his abdomen. He let out a yelp, and Dr. Nathan came running over.

  
“Miguel? Is everything okay?”

  
Miguel grimaced, and replied, “I don’t know, doc, I just─,” he let out another small scream, and Gloria came over to put her hand on his back and abdomen. She then noticed the sweat forming on his brow and the way he was panting. She sniffed the air, then looked wide-eyed back at him. She grasped his shoulders and forced him to look at her.  
“Miguel, listen carefully, you’re going into heat, okay? Do you want anything from your pod, something like an extra blanket or─”

  
“No! I’m not going into heat, I can’t be an omega, please!” Miguel cried, and Gloria truly felt bad for him. The omegas she’s seen come into her clinic, bruised and bloodied, still gave her shivers. As a beta, she couldn’t imagine what they go through.

  
“I’m going to get you to a heat room and then go tell McManus, okay?”

  
She managed to get him situated and semi-comfortable, then went to go find McManus and report the new discovery.

In Em City, inmates were hanging around watching Miss Sally and playing some card games. Ryan sat with Beecher and Keller playing rummy.

  
“So...what was the thing about that happened this morning about, hm?” Keller asked.

  
Ryan looked down at his cards and sighed. He glanced up through his eyelashes at the two, and saw Toby mouthing “really?” at Chris, and him mouthing “What?” with a shoulder shrug back at him. He sighed once more at their antics.

  
“It was nothing. Thought Alvarez said something under his breath.”

  
“Mmmhmm. Sure.” Keller said, putting down a couple of cards. Toby hit his calf with his foot under the table, and Keller punched out a little “Ouch!”

  
Suddenly, Ryan felt like something was off. He looked up, but noticed that everyone else was fine. He then got a sharp stabbing pain in his stomach and clutched it. He hissed, and the pair across from him asked if he was okay.

  
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, I’m just─,” he blinked once, then put his cards on the table and started to speed walk towards the infirmary.

  
“Where are you going?” Beecher asked.

  
“The infirmary. My mate is in heat.”


	2. 2012 Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG, Verona, Italy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope yall enjoy! give the kudos and comments :)  
> also if you can spot my Witcher reference (its very blatant and will be explained in later chapters) I love you :)

Ryan had somehow convinced Murphy he needed to go to the infirmary. His instincts were telling him to fuck the hacks and run down there by himself to face the consequences, but then he thought about Miguel. Miguel, his “Destined” mate, who was most likely in lots of pain right now and suffering alone. 

_ I can fix it,  _ he thought,  _ if I could just fucking  _ get _ there! _

At this point, Ryan was practically jogging towards the infirmary where he knew Miguel was. He could feel his heartbeat in his neck, a couple of inches from where his own bonding spot is. Ryan shook his head to clear his thoughts of anything but getting to Miguel. 

Murphy interrupted his thoughts. “Godda─Goddammit, O’Reily! Slow the hell down!” 

Ryan rolled his eyes and slowed down to a jog, then gradually a walk as Murphy caught up with him. 

“What the hell has you running so hard? Didn’t you say your stomach hurt? Hey, O’Reily, don’t ignore me!” Murphy said. Ryan kept on walking, focusing on getting to the infirmary. 

As soon as they arrived, Ryan spotted Dr. Nathan gathering some papers and immediately went up to her. 

“Where is he? I need to see him. Please, Gloria, please where is he?” he said. 

Dr. Nathan looked startled when he began, but gradually relaxed by the end of his little speech. She shook her head and begun gathering her work again.

“I’m sorry, Ryan. If you’re talking about Miguel, I can’t let you go see him. I’m sorry. Now I have to go talk to McManus about the whole situation. So if you’ll excuse me, I─”

“Please. Gloria─Gloria! Look at me, I am begging you. Please let me see him!” Ryan wondered what had gotten into him to make him sound like this, but he quickly shoved that thought away as he looked at Dr. Nathan’s face, which was quickly turning into a face of realization. She contemplated for a moment, then spoke. 

“Give me your jacket.” she said at last, and Ryan’s eyebrows drew together. He shed his jacket into her waiting hand, and then begun to speak before Gloria cut him off. 

“I may not be able to let you in there without permission, but I can let him have your scent to help him. If there was more I could do, I would, but this will have to do for now. You should go back to Em City, dinner’s soon. I’ll give this to Miguel and then go talk to McManus. I’ll...try to see what I can do for you. But I can’t guarantee much. I’m sorry.” 

“Thank you. I─nevermind. Thanks.” he said, and begun to walk away, Murphy in tow. 

Gloria looked after him, then called out, “Wait! Ryan...how─how did you know? That Miguel was in heat? How did you know to come down here?” 

Ryan looked down at the floor, then back up. “I don’t know. I just... _ felt _ it. My feet had begun moving before my brain knew what was going on. I knew he needed help. I don’t know how I just...did.” he said, and then turned around to walk away once more.

Gloria thought on this for a moment, shook her head, and began towards McManus’ office. This kept getting weirder and weirder. 

_ Peculiar, indeed. _

Miguel was sure he was gonna die. There was searing pain everywhere, and he couldn’t get rid of it, even when he tried jacking himself off. It almost hurt more that way. 

After a couple hurtful orgasms, he fell into a restful sleep. 

_ He was dreaming, which is odd. He never dreams. At least, not happy dreams.  _

_ He looked around, wondering where the hell he was. He was standing on a very green lawn, in front of a two-story brick house. The front door was open, and on the front step he saw─ _

_ Himself. _

_ He was slightly older, and wore a soft-looking t-shirt that had the words,  _ “Ferrywood Falcons” _ at the top and  _ “Ferrywood High School”  _ right under. Miguel frowns, as he had never heard of that high school. He looked at his own, older face, and saw that dream-him was smiling down at a young boy playing in the grass not five feet away. He couldn’t have been more than six, and had a chubby face that somewhat resembled Miguel’s own. The young boy played with some toys shaped like airplanes, and he picked one up and showed it to his older self. _

_ “Pa! Pa, look what they do!” the young boy said, and ran up to older-Miguel. The dream-Miguel put on a bright smile and opened his arms wide to catch the young boy as he came running.  _

_ “That’s so cool, Mateo! But can sus aeroplanos do...this!?” and the older-Miguel began mercilessly tickling the boy, now named Mateo. Mateo was giggling like a madman, squealing in older-Miguel’s arms. Dream-Miguel then gathered him farther in his arms, Mateo’s chin on his chest. Dream-Miguel’s arms wound around Mateo’s chest and he rested his chin on Mateo’s head as they both looked out toward the suburban street.  _

_ Miguel began to walk towards the scene in his dream, and then he heard a honk of a car. He watched himself and Mateo, who seemed to be his son? wave toward a car that was slowly arriving into the driveway attached to the house. The car parked, turned off, and a young girl got out of the driver’s seat. Her smile was bright as she walked over to dream-Miguel and Mateo. She looked about fifteen, maybe sixteen and was very pretty. _

This must be my daughter, _ he thought.  _

_ She bounded up to dream-Miguel and sat down next to him, while Mateo climbed out of his arms and into the girl’s. She grabbed under his armpits and pulled him into her lap, beginning to show her his airplanes.  _

_ “Those are so cool, Mateo!” she said, and smiled at him. _

_ Dream-Miguel smiled, then asked, “So...how was it?”  _

_ The girl looked over at him, then smiled even brighter, if that was possible. “It was good. I’m finally getting the hang of this driving thing I think. Even though dad held onto the handlebar the entire time, I think I’m getting better!” they shared a look, then burst out into giggles together.  _

_ “Hey, are you two making fun of me over there?” a voice said. Miguel recognized that voice.  _

_ And from the passenger side of the car, Ryan O’Reily appeared, handsomer than ever. _

Well, this man ages like a fine wine, doesn’t he? _ Miguel thought.  _

_ “Nooo, dad, we’re just...yeah, we’re laughing at you!” and her and dream-Miguel began laughing once more. Ryan looked fondly at the two, then cracked a smile.  _

_ “Alright, alright. Very funny, okay. Well either way, Cirilla, you did a very good job trying to drive today.” Ryan said. The girl, Cirilla, rolled her eyes and smiled again. _

_ “Why do you insist on calling me my full name? Is this punishment for making you almost vomit today?” she joked.  _

_ Dream-Miguel finally stood, and began to speak to all three of them. “Well how about instead of making fun of your father, we head inside to make dinner?” _

_ Mateo jumped up with his arms in the air, let out a little, “yeah!” and ran inside with all his airplane toys. Cirilla followed him, yelling about starting her homework.  _

_ Dream-Miguel and Ryan looked after the two, Ryan’s arm around dream-Miguel’s waist and his own against Ryan’s upper back. They then faced each other, Ryan kissing dream-Miguel’s forehead and they headed inside the house. The front door closed, and Miguel was left alone on the green lawn.  _

_ And then it was over.  _

Miguel startled awake, wishing he was back in that dream, where he seemed...happy. 

But he could no longer think about it, as the pain was back and he started the bullshit over again.

  
  


McManus’ office was cramped slightly, tension in the air. Tim sat at his desk chair, where Gloria and Sister Pete sat at the two chairs in front of his desk and Murphy stood in the corner, arms crossed. 

“So...Alvarez is an omega.” Tim started. 

Gloria sighed. “Yup. He is.”

The silence stretched on for a moment. And then Sister Pete spoke up. 

“So. Miguel is an omega. He can have a pod to himself. We’ll keep a close eye on him, have trusted guards close by at all times, and we can keep Miguel safe. That’s that.”

“It’s not that simple, I don’t think,” Gloria started. “Yeah, we can move him to a pod by himself, but I don’t think that’s enough. And there’s also the problem with Ryan and─”

“Woah woah, ‘problem with Ryan’? What’s that about?” McManus interrupted. 

“Basically me and Gloria think...O’Reily and Alvarez are mates.” Murphy summarized. 

Tim’s mouth dropped open of its own accord. He sat in silence for a moment, then tried to speak, but no words came out. 

Sister Pete decided to speak instead. “There’s protocol for this, no? Let’s just take one day at a time and see what happens. Doctor Nathan, are you absolutely sure that these two are mates?”

“I’m pretty sure. I have never seen Ryan like that, he was genuinely concerned about Miguel and he looked ready to lash out at me and Sean for getting in his way. There might be a chance that Ryan is lying, but I really doubt it. I think Ryan and Miguel actually are mates.” 

The four sat for another moment. McManus took a deep breath in, then said, “Alright. Well, I guess we’ll take it one day at a time.”

  
  
  


Miguel woke up, pain gone, body wrapped in a piece of fabric. He buries his head in the cloth, breathing deeply and smelling it.

_ Woah. _

Miguel almost got another heat spell after a deep breath. It smelled  _ amazing. _ He took another deep breath and shuddered from the scent. His eyes finally opened wide, and he saw what he was holding. 

Ryan’s jacket. 

Miguel stared at it for a moment, taking in the fact that he had  _ Ryan’s jacket _ when he was in heat. Miguel felt oddly touched that Ryan had cared enough to lend him his jacket, especially his Irish green one that he wears to the point of overuse. He began to sit up, taking the jacket with him, smelling it the whole time. He swung his legs to the floor, and stood up looking for his clothes. As soon as he was dressed in his usual tank top and sweats, he contemplated whether or not to put Ryan’s jacket on. Would Ryan be mad if he went to Em City with his jacket on? Would he care? Would he demand it back, complain about the heat stench, and embarrass him in front of everyone?

_ Well at this point, _ Miguel thought, _ nothing could be more embarrassing than being an omega, so bring it on.  _

He ultimately decided on just carrying it, and was escorted back to Em City. The hack he followed took a different turn away from Miguel’s pod, so he asked where the hack was taking him.

“You’ve been assigned a new pod. They brought your stuff up here yesterday. You’ll be alone since there’s no other omegas to share with. So be good, or else.” the hack smirked at his little quip, and Miguel scowled. The hack shut his pod door and walked away. 

Miguel sat down on the bottom bunk, Ryan’s jacket clutched in his hands. He looked down at it, put his arms in the sleeves, and moved his legs on top of the bed in an attempt to take a nap. Then there was a knock on his pod door. 

“O’Reily? What are you doing here?” he said as soon as he’d opened the door. Ryan entered, then Miguel shut the clear door. 

“I uh...wanted to see how you were doing. Are you─I mean do you feel better?” Ryan asked.  _ That was the lamest thing you have ever said, O’Reily, but it was still charming.  _

“Yeah I feel better, thanks. Oh, hey thanks for the jacket, it helped...I think, I don’t really remember… here, have it back─”

“No─keep it on. You...you look really good in it.” Ryan said.

Miguel was confident he was blushing like an idiot. He had no clue what to say to that, so he just replied, “Thanks.” 

For some reason, the blushing must have turned him into a full-blown idiot because the next thing that came out of his mouth was, “Your scent smells amazing.”

_ What the fuck is wrong with me? _

Ryan smirked, and began to walk towards Miguel like a predator. His hands were in his pockets, and he gave Miguel a once-over, admiring him unashamedly. 

“Yeah? You think so?” Ryan was now less than a foot away, looking right into Miguel’s eyes, “Well...what do I smell like?”

Miguel was well aware that Ryan knew what he smelled like. Ryan was doing this to get a rise out of Miguel, and it was working.  _ Didn’t he say this could never happen? That he could never be my mate? And now he’s making moves? This guy confuses me… _

Ryan saw Miguel’s inner turmoil, and settled on an idea:  _ this will show him I’m not kidding.  _

Ryan snaked his hand up Miguel’s arm, slowly all the way up to his shoulder, and put his thumb right on the mating gland and rubbed down. (Everybody knows: you don’t touch a mating gland unless you’re about to bite down or unless you want to die. Ryan knew Miguel wouldn’t kill him, but also knew that Ryan wasn’t about to bite down. Ryan was all about bold statements, and I suppose this was big enough.)

Miguel gasped loudly, and threw his hands onto Ryan’s biceps, squeezing hard. Ryan continued to rub his skin, Miguel’s eyes closed and head spinning. 

“C’mon, sweetheart, tell me. What do I smell like?” 

Well, if Ryan wants him to give in...he’ll give in.

Miguel took a deep breath and replied, “Like...coffee. Fresh coffee in the morning. And─and vanilla cake. But also blackberries. Like fresh-picked blackberries in summer. Also...pepper. Spicy pepper. And it’s like they all blend together to make...like, a sweet and sour sauce, you know? Like they shouldn’t go together, but somehow they do, and it’s perfect. Sweet and sour. That’s...almost ironic, considering your personality, O’Reily.” 

Ryan stopped rubbing his mating spot, and brought his hand up to Miguel’s cheek. “I guess so, huh?” and started to lean in closer and closer to his face. Miguel’s eyes got wider, and he looked down at Ryan’s lips, then back up.

“You’re confusing, Mr. Sweet and Sour.”

Ryan chuckled, “It’s all part of my charm, baby.” 

Ryan made the move and kissed Miguel soft, both hands coming up to cradle his face while Miguel cupped Ryan’s hands on his face. Ryan broke the kiss to his lips, then pecked all over Miguel’s face, making him giggle. 

“Ryan, Ryan, hold on. We have to talk about this. You said you still have a mate, and I’m new to this, you know, omega thing, and─” Miguel was interrupted by Pancamo on the pod door.

“O’Reily. Let’s go, we need to get to the kitchens.” 

Ryan angrily sighed through his nose.  _ Of course. _ He looked apologetically at Miguel, “We’ll talk later, yeah? After dinner, maybe?” 

Miguel nodded his head. “Sounds good. I’ll try to leave work early so maybe we can talk. We’re good though, right?”

“Yes baby. We’re good. Maybe even great if I do say so myself.” Ryan said, smirk playing on the edges of his mouth.

Pancamo sighed. “Now, O’Reily!”

“I’ll see you soon, okay?” Ryan said.

“Soon.”

  
  
  


Miguel was in the infirmary, stocking some shelves in the back. He kept thinking about his kiss with Ryan, and how he pressed on his neck, and how that made him feel. He thought back to his dream, how that all felt so real, and how he wanted that one day with Ryan. His daydream was interrupted by Morales walking over slowly, look on his face that Miguel couldn’t quite discern. 

“Qué pasó? Someone try to shank you?” Miguel asked.

Morales snorted. “Nah. Fuckin’ broken laundry basket. Piece of plastic stuck out and cut my shin to shit. Been stuck here for an hour or two.”

Miguel nodded his head in sympathy. “Well what’d you come over here for? You should be in the damn bed.” 

Morales looked somewhat sheepish before he spoke up. “I just...wanted to talk to you. Heard you’re an omega now.”

Miguel got a flash of fear before he stifled it, and put on a stone cold face. 

“Yeah. What’s it to you?”

“I...want to offer a truce. Of some kind. I know me and the gang haven’t been the best to you since I started running it...but─listen. My sister was an omega. And she was─the only person in my life who showed me real love and she was the only person I really loved too. So. She died in a bus crash. The day she died, I promised myself I would become a… better citizen or some shit. Obviously that didn’t fuckin’ happen, but I thought I might as well start with you. So...I know it sounds fuckin’ stupid, but that’s that. So...the gang will leave you be. I promise you that. That’s my good deed for my sister, I guess.” 

Miguel stared at him hard. Was Morales serious?

“Wow. Thanks, Enrique. Uh...I’m sorry. About your sister, I mean.”

Morales pursed his lips, looked down, and put his hands in his pockets. He nodded his head once, then walked back to his bed.

Miguel watched him go back to his bed. He was shell-shocked that Morales showed that type of kindness towards him. His eyes then slid past Morales to the bed a couple spots over. 

Cyril O’Reily sat in the infirmary bed, silently weeping, while nurses tended to some of his wounds. Miguel set down his supplies he was stocking as his feet carried him over to Ryan’s brother. When some of the nurses dissipated, Miguel made his way to the right side of the bed with a chair next to it. 

He slowly sat down and reached towards Cyril’s hand. As soon as Miguel had brushed Cyril’s hand, he startled and Miguel pulled his hand away like it was burned.

“Hey, Cyril. It’s just me. Do you remember me?” Miguel said softly. 

Cyril slowly nodded. “You’re Miguel. You...smell like Ryan.”

Miguel was not expecting that. He looked at Cyril closely, noticing his tense posture. Miguel attempted to hold Cyril’s hand once more, and this time he succeeded. Cyril clutched his hand tightly, and his eyes scrunched shut. 

“Cyril, hey Cyril,” Miguel started, “may I come sit next to you on the bed? Do you want me to read to you?” 

Cyril was quiet, then nodded without letting go of Miguel’s hand. He scooted over slightly to make room, and Miguel slid into the space. 

“Are you going to read to me?” Cyril asked.

Miguel looked around for something to read, and found a National Geographic magazine laying on the table next to the bed. He grabbed it and flipped open the first page. He began reading about the Galapagos Islands. As he lost himself in reading, Cyril slowly put his head on Miguel’s shoulder and closed his eyes. 

Miguel kept on reading anyways. 

  
  


Ryan sat in the cafeteria with Beecher and Keller. Why he still sat with them, he didn’t know. He kept looking around the cafeteria, wondering where Miguel was. Was he safe? What if he got shanked? What if someone is trying to─

“Yo, Irish bitch, you gonna eat that or keep searching for your new boo thang?” Keller asked. Beecher put his elbow on the table and his head in his hands, rubbing his temples. 

Ryan glared at Keller, and as soon as Keller and Beecher began another argument, Murphy walked straight up to O’Reily. 

“Come with me. Cyril is in the infirmary.”

Ryan immediately began beating himself up about forgetting about his brother in his worry about Miguel. He gathered himself and started speed walking to the infirmary with Murphy. He threw open the door, and began to shout Cyril’s name when he spotted him and stopped dead in his tracks. 

Miguel was sitting on Cyril’s bed, reading a magazine to him with his head on his shoulder. Cyril occasionally pointed out pictures with his pointer finger, Miguel nodding along with his comments. Miguel’s soothing voice read about tropical islands and the animals that lived there. Cyril giggled when Miguel mimicked the faces of the animals. Ryan stood there for God knows how long, admiring how well Miguel and his brother got along.

Apparently it was a very long time, because he came to with Gloria practically shouting his name. 

“─an! Ryan! Ryan!”

“Sorry doc, what’s up?”

Doctor Nathan explained that Cyril was found in a hallway alone and slightly beaten up, but no one knows who did it. They talked about it for a minute before Murphy showed up once more.

“What man? You keep fucking up my day with bad news, what’s next, my cat died?”

Murphy had a guilty look on his face, before he said, “Not exactly, although you’re gonna wish your cat had died. Um...Shannon is here. She wants to see you.”

_ Well, shit. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> see everyone next friday ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh shit dawg this is...two and a half? weeks overdue oops :) I have lost all sense of time. I am suffering. :) enjoy hoes  
> also formatting is not my thing so apologies  
> this is such a shitty story you guys

Days and time seem to easily get lost in Oz, especially when variety ceases to exist. Not to say that the occasional murder doesn’t give up the duration of time between one dead guy to the next. Statistically, most murders are said to happen on Fridays. 

Either way, variety in Emerald City typically never changes. 

Until Miguel Alvarez. 

Tobias Beecher was, to say the least, surprised at the revelation that the tough, latin man was an omega. Yeah, he was on the shorter side (and, as Toby had come to find out, had very convincing sad, kicked puppy eyes, something that Toby knew was an omegan trait. Alvarez was very good at this look), but he did not expect him to be an omega. A beta would make more sense. Toby almost had a flash of irritation, a _“why him?”_ type of anger, but quickly brushed it aside and thought more about a _“poor him”_ stance. 

Tobias couldn’t tell you where his angry feelings came from, but they all dissolved when he saw Miguel walk into Em City, slightly alarmed, however looking mostly lost, as if he didn’t know who to trust. He probably didn’t. 

Looking over to Saïd, who was not focused on Toby and instead reading a book, he waved slightly to Alvarez, who finally noticed him and walked over, unsure of Toby’s motives. 

Toby attempted a smile at him, although most likely looking like a grimace, and gestured for him to sit down at the checkers table with him. He set the game up, then made the first move. While Miguel was making his own first move, he spoke. 

“So. An omega, huh?” Not the smartest choice of words, however Toby knew if you wanted to talk feelings with the guys in Oz, you had to be blunt.

Miguel faltered slightly from putting his black checker down, looked up at him through his eyelashes quickly, then resumed his composure and put the checker down in its spot. 

“Yeah…,” he said, and then the silence stretched between the table, the only sounds being checkers set in spots and Saïd’s pages being turned. Toby tapped his foot against the floor a couple of times, then resumed with his bluntness.

“And...you and Ryan? It’s a thing?” he said. 

Miguel almost choked on the air at that question. Was it a thing? Were they doing a courtship? 

“Um...yeah. Maybe. I don’t know. We haven’t talked about it really.” he looked at Beecher, who was focussing on the checkerboard, and breathed in heavily. “Actually, um… you’re an omega, right? Would you mind...uh. What’s it like being an omega? I don’t… I don’t know how this works, so. Uh…” 

At this point, Toby’s eyes had locked onto his face, eyes wide with surprise. He slowly started nodding his head, coming back to the reality that Miguel Alvarez was asking him for help. “Uh, yeah. Okay, what do you want to know?” 

“I don’t even know... how do I...I don’t know, _be_ an omega? I never got lessons in this shit, so…” 

Toby suddenly felt sympathetic for Miguel, who clearly did not expect to be an omega. He can understand the range of emotions that Miguel is going through right now, as Toby himself did not expect to be an omega either. He pursed his lips, then looked back at the checkerboard.

“How do you feel about a little light reading?” he said, and Miguel’s eyebrows furrowed before he answered. 

“Uh, sure. They have books like that in that shitty library here?”

“It’s not a shitty library, and no they don’t. But Sister has some in her office I’m sure she’d let me borrow. There’s stuff on dynamics, mating, all that shit. You can read those and then come back with questions. How does that sound?”

Miguel looked slightly shy as he nodded his head. “Yeah. Thanks. Sorry about being clueless.” 

Toby shook his head in disagreement. “You’re not clueless. You just need some help. It’s good to ask for help when you need it, especially about something like this, okay? Don’t be sorry.” he said, forcefully, and made eye contact with the other omega. Miguel nodded, then once more moved a checker over one of Toby’s, taking it off the board and placing it on his side of the table. 

Just then, Chris walked over to Toby, whispered something in his ear, and Toby smiled. Chris smirked, then began to walk away towards their pod. Toby smiled after him, and looked towards Miguel.

“I’ll get those books for you. You win. See you later?” he hurriedly said. 

Before Miguel had the chance to reply, Beecher was already off following Chris. Miguel sighed, and started to gather the checkers. 

Having completely forgot that Saïd was sitting at that table, he startled when Saïd put his book down and looked at Miguel. He was moderately panicked, thinking maybe Saïd had heard the conversation about dynamics, and then _of course he heard, idiot,_ he thought, _he’s not even a fuckin’ foot away._

Saïd studied him for a moment, then linked his fingers together and sat back in his chair. Miguel couldn’t remember the last time that he had actually had a conversation with the guy, but he knows that Saïd helped Beecher when he had first arrived and was dealing with being an omega in prison. Saïd, although an alpha, had a calming demeanor that made Miguel want to trust him. 

“You know,” Saïd started, “in my culture, male omegas are the most powerful status of the whole lot. Your rarity is worshipped, but you also have the capability to bring alphas to their knees, Miguel. Beecher struggled in the beginning with his status. It had never been a problem out there in the world until he arrived here. But I’ll tell you the same thing I told him. You hold the power, Miguel. These alphas? They just want an omega to hold, have sex with, mate with, and they’d do anything to have one. In your presence, they are easily manipulated into doing your bidding. You may not _want_ to be an omega, but now, it is your best weapon. You have the advantage. Take it.” 

Miguel was floored by this small speech. It hadn’t really occurred to him, but as he looks back on it, the omegas in Oz were protected by someone, somehow. Beecher was protected by Keller and the rest of the Others, and Billie Keane, protected by his brother and other Homeboys. Peter Schibetta, protected by the Italians. Where did Miguel fit in, though?

“I know you think being an omega means you are weak, helpless, easily taken advantage of. Do not let this sentiment get to your head. You are powerful. You will survive, if you use those omegan instincts you have somewhere up there.” 

Miguel could recognize that Saïd was making a joke, however the argument Saïd had put out into the open air was still confounding him. 

“Why are you telling me this? To get me to kill someone for you? What is your gain?” he said, after a moment of contemplative silence. Saïd took in a large breath of air then spoke again.

“I have no gain. Like I said, omegas are worshipped in my culture. Even in this prison, this still stands.” 

Miguel was extremely (and rightly so) confused at this reasoning. Before he could attempt to question further, Arif came to take the place originally occupied by Beecher. 

“Hey man, Alvarez, right? Heard you’re an omega now. Just wanted to say congratulations.” Miguel was very confused about why he would be congratulating him, but then remembered the whole “omegan worship” thing. 

_Ugh._

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Also heard you got O’Reily now. You guys are destined? Man, that is crazy that you met in prison but you're destined.” Arif said. With that, Saïd looked back towards Miguel. 

“Yes I was meaning to ask about that as well. Are you _sure_ he is your destined? I’ve heard he is...slippery. I don’t think he’d be the greatest mate.” Saïd mentioned. 

Miguel shrugged. “We haven’t really talked about it. I mean yeah, we’re destined, but there’s still things to talk about.” Miguel remembered, just then, that Ryan should be off work right now, and he only had twenty minutes to get to his own shift. He didn’t want to miss the opportunity to talk to Ryan, but didn’t want to be rude to either man at the table.

Saïd smirked slightly, “Go to him. Just remember, Miguel, alphas are alphas, no matter how much omegas want to believe in them.” 

Miguel was kinda tired of this dude’s crypticness. He scraped the metal chair along the floor in his haste to leave the commons. 

  
  
  
  


Ryan had never been particularly fond of Shannon. Their bonding was a spur of the moment bite, and how they’ve even kept it up this long, he has no clue. He knew Shannon had been watching and taking care of Cyril before he had landed himself in jail, but now that they were both in Oz’s sad excuse for a prison, he wondered what the point of still being bonded to her was. There was no way he was getting out of Oz, and deep down in his Grinch-like heart he had remorse for leaving her bonded to him for the time he’s been at Oz. 

He made his way to the visitor’s room, and had changed into fresh, white kitchen work clothes. Miguel’s scent was no longer surrounding him, but he could still smell that sweet chocolate smell that was sticking to his neck ─ undetectable to anyone unless they were close enough to smell the omega. He wasn’t sure if his alpha instincts were broken ─ did he want to show off how good his omega smelled, or did he want to keep that intoxicating scent all to himself? Either way, his thoughts were cut off by his arrival to the visitor’s room. 

Shannon was seated at the wooden table, legs and arms crossed, scowl on her face. When she saw Ryan, she sat up slightly and pushed her hair out of her face. Ryan pulled out a chair and turned it around, stradling it and crossing his arms over the back. Shannon, ever the tactful omega, took a deep breath and spoke. 

“We should break our bond.” 

Ryan smirked. “Well I thought that would be harder. Let’s break it.” 

Shannon wrinkled her nose, “You’re not gonna put up a fight or nothin’?” 

Ryan shrugged, “No. You want to break the bond, I want to break the bond. It’s unfair to keep you chained to me for the rest of your life cuz I’m sure as hell not getting out of here. We don’t have a fuckin’ future, fuckin’ nothin’. Why bother keeping some dumb bond anyway? At least you can move on.” Ryan felt overwhelmed with this faux “heart-to-heart” session him and Shannon were having. 

“You’re right. Thank you for being considerate Ryan. I didn’t know if you would understand. We haven’t been the best pair, have we?”

“Hey, you took care of Cyril for me, that’s good enough for me. Sorry it ended this way.” he ended hastily, and stood out of his chair. Shannon did the same, sensing the conversation was over. Their bond was so shattered, she couldn’t feel his emotions ─ not that she was able to in the first place, but she tried as hard as she could to reach out to him. Instead of through the bond, she reached out with her arms to envelop him in a flimsy hug.

She was too close, so all Ryan could do was lightly wrap his arms around her. He heard her inhale quickly, then she stiffened. He heard a guard tell them to break it up, but she pulled back with a sour look on her face.

Ryan frowned, “What’s wrong?” he asked.

Shannon tilted her head quick, then trailed her tongue over her teeth before replying, “That’s why you’re not fighting me. You’re cheating on me. That’s it. You found some other stupid omega, hm?” she crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the ground. 

Ryan then realised Miguel’s scent was still on him. 

“Shit, Shannon, it’s not exactly cheating, I mean we’ve basically been broken up since I was put in this shithole, and we’re breaking our bond ─”

“Well then...we’re not! Breaking it, I mean. It has to be wanted by both parties, right? So no. I refuse to break the bond. Tell that to your little omega whore.” she smirked. 

He gawked. “Shannon you’re being a petty bitch. Just agree to break it. He’s not a whore and I think I have a chance with him, unlike I did with you. We never worked, Shannon, so now you can go find someone who does. And forget about me. Don’t you want to do that?” 

Shannon sighed. She looked down at the white floor, then back to the crumbling ceiling tiles. Pulling her lip in between her teeth, she put her arms around his neck, pulled him close, and whispered, “I’m not giving up on you,” before she crashed her lips into his. 

_SHIT._

  
  
  


Miguel stopped by the kitchens, looking behind the counter and craning his neck to spot Ryan. Chucky looked up from pulling plastic utensils out of a cardboard box, and chuckled a bit at Miguel’s eagerness. 

“Hey, loverboy. He left a minute ago, see someone in the visitor’s room.”

Miguel blushed at Pancamo’s words, embarrassed he had been seen. He nodded in thanks and went off in the direction of the visitor’s room, which would be a pitstop on his way to the infirmary. He would just look in the windows, make sure Ryan was okay, then head to his shift. The talk could wait, however much it was making Miguel antsy. 

He was close to the visitor’s room now, smile on the border of his lips, almost as if he couldn’t help it. The thought of Ryan made him smile, and it scared him slightly. Oz never was a synonym of happy. 

He saw some guards by the visitor’s room door, but thought he might be able to sneak a peek inside quickly before going to his shift. 

He stopped in the window farthest away from the guards to look in through the halfway closed blinds, and searched for Ryan’s lanky frame. He spotted him standing next to a slim woman with dark hair. They appeared to be arguing, but the woman then stopped talking for a moment. 

Then she kissed him. 

_ Just remember, Miguel... _

And then he kissed back.

_...alphas are alphas... _

He grabbed her waist and she pushed into him.

_...no matter how much...  _

He stood there for several seconds.

_...omegas want to believe in them. _

Ryan was not pulling away. 

Miguel did not know what to do. One of the guards shocked him out of his stupor. 

“Hey! Don’t you have somewhere to be?” the guard asked.

Miguel nodded his head slowly, and turned to walk down the hall to his shift, mouth agape and eyes unfocused. 

The guards looked at each other, confused. “Are you alright?”

Once again Miguel nodded and headed to his shift. Once he opened the infirmary doors, he spotted Doctor Nathan looking at some spreadsheets. He gradually walked over to her, and she finally noticed him standing there. 

She smiled, “Good afternoon. I don’t have much to do today, but ─ Miguel, are you okay?” she said, concern in her tone. 

Miguel looked her in the eye and noticed he couldn’t see her perfectly, that she was blurry. He blinked, and wet trailed down his cheek. He took in a breath of surprise, then let out a small sob, then quickly covered his mouth with his hand. After that first sob, he was completely gone. Tears ran down his face and his breathing quickened up. Gloria guided him over to a chair, asking the nearby nurses for some water. 

Then he heard some other voices through his sobbing. He opened his eyes to find Chico leaning towards him, looking around his face for injuries. 

“If you could help the guard take him back to Em City, Chico.” Doctor Nathan was saying.

“Yeah sure, sure.” 

Miguel felt hands under his armpits and then he was being lifted out from the chair. He had stopped crying, however his eyes were unfocused and his mind was reeling with the shock. His alpha ─ well not _his_ alpha anymore he supposed ─ did not want him. His body felt heavy, and the embarrassment from crying had not settled in his bones just yet. He felt blank. He did not even notice when they arrived back at Em City and he was placed in a metal chair, suddenly surrounded by other prisoners.

“My goodness, is he okay? Guerra, hey, what happened?”

Miguel thought that sounded like Fiona, one of the omegas in the Gays. He thought it was sweet of Fiona to ask about him, but that was probably just Fiona’s nature. 

“Guerra. ¿Que carajo pasó a Miguel?” _What the fuck happened to Miguel?_ Most definitely Morales, with his deep timbre and alpha tone. He heard Chico whispering in spanish, but he couldn’t make it out. He curled in on himself deeper. He looked up to see Chris and Toby off to the side, Beecher tucked into Keller’s side, shock on their faces. He saw Chico and Morales whispering conspiratorially, glancing at him every so often. Then Fiona and Tony, searching for a blanket to wrap him up in. 

He then looked to his left to see Said. He raised his head higher to meet Saïd’s gaze. 

Saïd studied him for a moment. He then tilted his head, and looked him dead in the eyes. 

“Miguel. You are in power.” 

He understood what that meant now. The moment of realization hit him like a truck. His eyes widened. His expression went from saddened to stone cold.

Miguel was angry. He had the power here. 

He wiped the dried tears off his face with one hand and uncurled himself from the chair.

Toby then spoke. “Miguel, was it Ryan? Did he say something?”

Miguel scoffed, but didn’t reply. He was still looking at Said.

“You know, you two are still new, you know? It can be hard, courting and mating and love─”

Miguel then laughed, but it was a hollow sound. To Toby’s surprise, it scared him.

“Love?” 

The group gathered around him all turned towards him. Guerra and Morales confused, Toby, Chris, Fiona all shocked.

“Love is weakness. I should have known better. But I know now.”

Saïd and Miguel shared a smirk, and Toby wondered what Saïd had said to Miguel. _Nothing good,_ thought Toby. _This won’t be good._

Fiona then spoke up. “But...he’s clearly your destined mate, your fated to be─”

Miguel angrily stood up, face contorted to a snarl. “I will NOT be tossed around by fate. This is my life. It will be the way I CHOOSE!” 

And with that, Miguel was off to his pod.

Toby and Chris shared a nervous look.

 _Not good at all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if I suffer, so do the characters 
> 
> anyway it's almost pride month so get ready


	4. Dead Omegas Society

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall this is...almost three weeks late :'P also sorry that the formatting is different every damn time like I can't get it together and like what is the plot???
> 
> anyway this story is very bad...so it might just be cancelled don't know yet :)
> 
> anyway catch that avatar ZUKO reference in there 
> 
> remember what I said about slow burn?
> 
> enjoy I guess

Ryan sighed. Tension was in the air on his walk back to Em City. If this meant they were placed on lockdown, Ryan was fucked. After his talk (and not-so-talk) with Shannon, he was high-strung. Spending more time with Cyril might make him snap, as much as he loved his brother. He was so confused, and his anger will come out on his brother. What did he do? He and Shannon were still technically bonded, and he felt a sense of obligation towards her. If he left her, he would feel like an even worse alpha. 

But now, Miguel is in his life ─ an omega who he could picture having a life with. And in all of his years in Oz, he’s never thought about having any type of family or life outside of Oz. It made him happy, knowing maybe he could be free again, and have a not-fucked-up family, unlike the family he had growing up. He had always wanted kids, but then Cyril had his accident and taking care of him was enough. 

That was another problem ― Cyril. After his visit to the hospital, Ryan had been trying to coerce him into talking about his attack. He’d been really quiet lately, and it was starting to worry Ryan, so much he might have to get Gloria and Sister Pete involved. Ryan had no clue who could hold animosity towards him, there were too many to count. He knew he had to figure it out quick, though. 

Head spinning with thoughts, he finally arrived back at Em City. He saw Toby and Chris standing close and whispering worriedly, which prompted him to stride over and ask what was going on. 

What he wasn’t expecting was to have eyes turn on him with ferocity, almost all at once. Chris and Toby, some of the Latinos, the Italians sitting slightly farther away but no less scathing, practically all of the Gays (who usually glared with no real spite; today, however, the hacks must have thrown out their favorite lipstick for them to all look so mad.), and some of the Muslims all gathered around a table, turned towards him, angry stares piercing his confidence. 

“What’s going on, guys? Somebody shit in your food? Promise it wasn’t me.” Ryan’s pride was slowly wearing down. Getting more confused and worried by the second, he started approaching where they all gathered. This seemed to be the wrong idea, as their faces all turned defensive. Ryan waited for an onslaught of mad complaints, most likely none of which he could fix.

Toby took a deep breath in, “You know, O’Reily, I thought you were a better Alpha than that.”

And wow, even if he had no clue what was going on, that kind of hurt. He let the hurt show on his face for a split second before returning to his scrunched eyebrows of confusion. He opened his mouth but was interrupted by a bunch of angry omega.

“I mean really? How could you―”

“I knew you were stupid, O’Reily, but I didn’t think you were that stupid…”

“You fucked uuuupp, you fucked uuuupp…”

Ryan was gonna get a headache if this went on for longer. 

“Enough! Would someone tell be what the fuck is going on?” Ryan yelled over the voices.

Chris looked up from his teasing sing-song, “You fucked up. You just lost your destined mate, is what you did. Nice man, nice.” Chris glanced across the group to see if they had their own input, then continued on, “When you went to visit Shannon? Yeah, Miguel saw you. And when you kissed her back? Yeah, that’s when you lost him. So I hope you enjoy an eternity of angry Latino omega. You fucked uuuupp, haha.” 

Ryan rolled his eyes at Chris’ usual antics. Then what he said registered in his brain. Miguel had seen him and Shannon kiss.  _ Shit. _ Wow. Ryan really  _ had _ fucked up, Toby was right. 

Just when his self-loathing couldn’t get much worse, Morales spoke up from the center of the Latino’s angry half-circle. “We should beat the shit out of you, pendejo. In fact, once we get Alvarez’s permission, I think we will. How does that sound?” the Latinos gathered around him made sounds of affirmation and nodded their heads. 

Ryan got slightly more confused. “I thought you guys fucking hated him, and now you’re protecting him? What’s up with that? Is it because he’s an omega now, is that it?” he said, tone gathering anger with each word.

Morales seemed to puff his chest up before replying. “No, it doesn’t. But you don’t deserve to know anything about Alvarez anymore.” 

Ryan scoffed. “So what? Why is everyone making such a big deal out of this? Shannon is still technically my mate. We kissed. Yeah, Miguel saw but now he has limitless opportunities to any alpha he wants in here. I say this is the best thing that could have happened for us.”

He tried to ignore the way the memories of Miguel’s kiss felt, or the way he took care of Cyril, or the way he innocently asked what he smelled like. Tried to ignore the way his dreams screamed of his future with Miguel, or the way he felt like an absolutely shitty alpha that didn’t deserve an omega like Miguel. 

Fiona came up to him, putting a hand on his shoulder and speaking softly in those omegan tones. “Sweetie, he’s your destined. You can’t just abandon his feelings like that.”

Suddenly, Ryan was angry. He smacked Fiona’s hand off his shoulder, “What about my own feelings, huh? Do I get any of those?” Ryan took a breath, “You know what? Can we just stop fucking talking about this? How about that? How about you all just leave the adulterous alpha here, huh?” he snapped. 

The group glanced at each other, then warily began to leave the space as Ryan sat on one of the chairs at the table, head leaning on his hand. He sighed audibly as the last of them left. Toby stood still, then turned around. Before walking away, Toby spoke, “You can deny it all you want, Ryan. He’s your destined. And you know what? Miguel is an inherently good person, deep down. You were lucky to be destined with someone like him, much less  _ meet _ your destined. Some of us aren’t so lucky. If I got the chance to be with my destined, I wouldn’t hesitate, no matter how much it hurt others around me.” And he glanced back at Ryan once more, then exited towards where Chris was standing. 

Ryan closed his eyes and finally turned his whole body inwards towards the table. When he opened his eyes, he startled at the sight of Saïd sitting there, contemplating him.

Ryan got defensive, not for the last time. “What the fuck do you want?” 

Saïd took a breath in, “Do you truly want to be with him?”

Ryan didn’t know if he completely trusted Saïd, but spoke anyway. “Yes. But I also remember a time when I loved Shannon. She came first, and I can’t just abandon her like that. She took care of Cyril before, and we were gonna have a house and kids…”

Saïd sighed. “So it is decided then. You still love her, you stay with her. It would make you a bad alpha to abandon her like that.”

Ryan frowned. Something sounded off with Saïd’s statement. Ryan could tell he had something up his sleeve, however he didn’t comment. He simply shook his head and closed his eyes, not noticing the way that Saïd silently slinked off out of the commons of Em City. 

  
  


Miguel was  _ mad. _ It wasn’t exactly an uncommon emotion for him to experience, however now it was different. Miguel had never truly experienced “heartbreak,” but man it hurt like a bitch. He needed to find a place to hide after storming out of Em City, or else someone would see him cry. He did  _ not  _ need anyone seeing him like that. 

Once he found an empty and available staircase, he ducked under it and sat, cradling his knees to his chest. Then he broke down. Tears came down his face, silent sobs out of his mouth, and he sat there for what felt like forever. Once he had finally calmed as best he could. He wiped the tears off his face with his hand and sat there blankly.  _ Love is weakness, therefore crying about love is even weaker. _

“Uh, hey, are you...okay?” someone said quietly. Miguel didn’t react. He looked for the source of the voice, only to find Peter Schibetta standing there, white kitchen uniform on and an uncomfortable look on his face, just a hint of worry. Miguel studied him for a second, then nodded his head and went back to staring straight ahead.

Peter looked into the adjourning hallway, and seeing nobody, went to sit next to Miguel. He mirrored his position, legs against his chest and arms around them. He turned his head to look at the side of Miguel’s face, seeing the red eyes and wet spots around his eyelids. Peter knew that Miguel was an omega, Urbano had told him during breakfast the other day. Peter knew first hand what it was like to become an omega when it was supposed to be the opposite. He’s glad, however, that he didn’t present in Oz like Miguel did. 

Peter gathered his thoughts. “Do you want to talk about it? Omega to omega?” 

That was not the right thing to say, as it got him a cutting glare out of the corner of Miguel’s eye. Peter held up his hands in surrender, and pursed his lips.  _ I guess I’ve never been very good at this omega thing.  _

“Ryan O’Reily is my destined.” 

Now  _ that _ Peter had  _ not _ heard. Definitely not what he expected, either. But he was willing to roll with it. 

“That’s rough, buddy.”  _ Whatever happened to “rolling with it”?  _

Miguel slowly nodded, still not looking at Schibetta. 

“My heart is broken. I can barely act like an omega, I don’t  _ want  _ to be an omega, and to be honest? I would love to beat the shit out of Ryan O’Reily right now. Or just any alpha, to be even more honest. I fucking hate it here.”

And wasn’t that a mood. Peter nodded in sympathy, and they sat in companionable silence for a couple moments. Peter then had an idea, and although it wasn’t thought through, his mouth moved before his brain could process.

“Follow me. I promise it’s nothing bad, and it’ll be worth it.” Peter said.

Miguel looked sceptical, but it was the first time he’d looked at Peter in the eye since he arrived. 

Peter put on the omega “puppy eyes” and that got him an eye roll and Miguel to stand, brush his pants off, and begin to walk towards Peter. 

_ I hope bringing him here will be okay,  _ Peter thought,  _ I haven’t told Saïd about it, maybe he’ll be angry. But he’ll understand. _

They walked until they hit what looked like a storage closet. Peter and Miguel stopped in front of the door, and Miguel raised an unimpressed eyebrow. Peter slyly smiled, then opened the door. 

What was behind the door made Miguel’s mouth drop. It was a huge common room, it almost looked like a full apartment. They walked inside, closed the door, and Miguel took a longer look around. There were two black couches sat in front of a small television on the far side of the room, and behind the couches were bookshelves that had rows and rows of books as well as some knick knacks that had been collected over the years. On the same wall as the TV, there was a small kitchen, including a sink, stove, oven, refrigerator, and cabinets holding cutlery and dishes. Parallel to the couches, there was a wooden dining table that sat up to eight people, but extra folding chairs scattered across the space. He could also spot a large basket filled with pillows, blankets, and other laundry. 

But it was overwhelmingly  _ omega. _ He couldn’t believe that there was a place so  _ serene  _ as this inside Oz. The TV was playing one of the regular stations always played in Em City, but it still seemed different without the stench of all the other inmates in Oz gathered around it. He saw that someone was on the couch gathered in a blanket reading a book, but he could not tell who it was. Peter gestured for him to come farther from the door, and started heading towards the couches. Miguel followed slowly behind, still taking it in. 

“Hey, Billie, whatcha readin’?” he heard Peter ask. 

“One of them new books on uuh… is that Alvarez?”

With the mention of his name, he startled back to reality and looked to see Peter and Billie sitting close together, now under the same blue blanket. 

“Uh, yeah. Hi.” he said awkwardly, not sure if he could go and join. 

“Did you tell Kareem about this?” Billie asked, ignoring Miguel’s introduction. 

Peter fidgeted with his thumbs, and whispered, “No. But Miguel is an omega, and he was sad ― hey, don’t look at me like that, I found him crying under the stairs! He’s heartbroken...Ryan O’Reily is his destined and apparently he doesn’t want Miguel…”

Miguel decided to intervene. “Uh, I can hear you, and if you want me to just leave, I can―”

“No! No, it’s fine, I just… wanted to make sure we could trust you.” Billie said, then looked him over, smiled a small smile, and gestured for him to take a seat. 

He walked over to the other side of the couch, took his shoes off, and sat, legs underneath him.  _ I have never been more confused. Can I ask questions? I’ve got a good one. What the fuck is going on?  _

Just when the three of them had become comfortable with the silence, the door opened once more. As if it couldn’t get weirder, Saïd walked in the door.

Miguel suddenly felt defensive that there was an alpha is an obviously omega-reserved space. He tensed, back straightening slightly, eyes widening in alarm. He glanced at Schibetta and Keane for direction, but they seemed unperturbed by his arrival. They saw him, smiled, and Billie went back to his book. Peter cleared his throat, and gestured to Miguel.

“Kareem, uh… I brought Miguel.” he said, and Miguel and Saïd made eye contact. Miguel felt like there was a talk coming on, so he got up off the couch and smoothed his hands out on his pants. He began walking over to him, where he gestured for Miguel to sit on one of the chairs at the dining table. They sat, and Saïd twined his fingers together and placed them on the wood. 

“What is this, Saïd? Does McManus know about this, I mean I just… what is going on?” Miguel frantically asked.

Saïd began. “Let me explain. Yes, McManus does know. In fact, he asked me to start it, along with Sister Pete’s help. We call it the Sanctuary. Listen to me very carefully. It is an experiment for the lawmakers. They want to see if it is possible to have an all-omegan prison. There was an advocacy for this that omegas mixed in with alphas and betas are ninety-six percent more likely to get raped and forced to bond when mixed than separate, so we began an experiment in Oz with omegas we could trust. Schibetta, Keane, Omar. Some of the omegas in the Gays. Miguel...this is a place for omegas to feel safe, and one day prisons like this may become a reality. I can get you on the roster for the Sanctuary. I just need to know if I can trust you. No one can know about this Sanctuary, not even the other omegas. Tobias cannot know, Fiona cannot know,  _ Ryan _ cannot know. Do you understand?”

“Why not? Do you not trust them?” Miguel asked.

“Not with this. This is too big of a secret, too big a risk.” 

Miguel nodded. “So...I’m still so confused, but…”

Saïd smiled. “Would you like to join the Sanctuary?”

Miguel sat in his thoughts for a moment. He was still so confused.  _ What is going on? _

“Okay. I’ll join. Does that mean I...live here now, or something? And are there rules?”

Saïd chuckled. “See the door next to the shelves?”  _ Oops. He had missed that. _ Right in between the bookshelves and where the door was to the hall was another white door, most likely leading to sleeping rooms.

“There aren’t really rules, except to respect other omegas and their space. But, then again, omegas like tactile experiences. You can expect to be friendly with these omegas soon enough.” at that, Saïd nodded his head towards the couch, where Peter was napping on Billie’s lap while he stroked his soft brown hair. 

_ That’s not something I ever thought I’d see. _

“There is one thing though,” Kareem said, “is that you cannot have any relationship with an alpha, as part of the experiment. It may tamper with the results. You can go to Emerald City, the cafeteria, your work detail. But you and Ryan, or any alpha for that matter, can never be involved. Physically or romantically.”

Losing Ryan might be hard.  _ But then again, he doesn’t want me. So I can attempt to not want him.  _

“Done.”

Saïd smiled, wide and toothy. “Then it is settled. I shall get the paperwork from Sister Pete and you can arrange yourself a room back with the others. There is plenty of space, I promise.” 

Miguel nodded as he left, and then looked back at where Peter and Billie were. Billie had looked up from his book when Saïd left, and him and Miguel made eye contact. He motioned to Miguel to join them on the couch. He padded over, and sat close to Peter’s feet. That gave Peter (who was apparently  _ not _ asleep) the idea to shove his bare, cold feet under Miguel’s thighs. Miguel gave a slight shriek, but didn’t move, and instead settled back down into the couch to watch “Up Your Ante.” 

He shook his head at Peter’s antics, and looked over at Billie.

Billie finally broke out into a genuine smile, “You get used to it. He’s a little shit more often than not.” 

As Peter and Billie began to playfully argue, Miguel thought,  _ Yeah. _

_ I could get used to this.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyway leave a comment if you'd like
> 
> if you catch the Zuko reference you get one (1) free hug


End file.
